62
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83IndieWireRyan LattanzioIndieWireRyan LattanzioIn its wryly amusing self-awareness at all turns, the film actively and relentlessly lampoons the very language and gesturing we all affect in trying to broach the political maelstrom of identity politics.
- 80VarietyMurtada ElfadlVarietyMurtada ElfadlIn real life, anyone would hate to spend even a few minutes in their company. Yet in Hammel’s hands, they become easy to enjoy and laugh at while completely understanding their full awful personalities.
- 75Slant MagazineSteven ScaifeSlant MagazineSteven ScaifeThe film is an insightful look at modern discontent and the pandemonium that it breeds.
- 75Paste MagazineKatarina DocalovichPaste MagazineKatarina DocalovichGoing against the grain of a cultural landscape desperate to pretend like the COVID-19 pandemic never happened, Hammel dives headfirst into her exploration of the specific ways the universal experience of lockdown drove us all insane.
- 67The PlaylistGregory EllwoodThe PlaylistGregory EllwoodHammel has talent and something to say that’s worth paying attention to. There’s a spark of something there, eventually. It’s a little messy, but it’s definitely there. It also just might take a while before you want to hear it.
- 67ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonAmid Hammel’s acid-tongued approach and jaundiced eye, there’s a lot of intriguing potential; after all, cinema that imperfectly confronts is oftentimes more interesting than comfortable competence.
- 60Screen RantGraeme GuttmannScreen RantGraeme GuttmannIt's unclear if Stress Positions has arrived "too soon" but its proximity to the pandemic doesn't make it any less hysterical, even if it's hollow in other areas.
- 60Wall Street JournalZachary BarnesWall Street JournalZachary BarnesThe movie has its funny moments, and even some halfway-poignant ones, but it occasionally gives one the feeling of watching a bawdy New York-set sitcom and listening to a segment of “This American Life” at the same time.
- 58The Film StageLena WilsonThe Film StageLena WilsonIts scrappiness is what brings the charm à la the early work of Madeleine Olnek. Random attempts at depth detract from the final product rather than add to it.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyWhile Hammel might be aiming for an ensemble comedy, Stress Positions lacks focus; the director can’t seem to decide who should be the heart of her shapeless narrative, a feeling compounded by dueling voiceovers.